Aircraft Interiors Expo
28 – 30 May 2024
Hamburg Messe

IFEC Zone at AIX: The future of onboard entertainment and connectivity

Come and find more at the IFEC Zone

The IFEC Zone at Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) showcases the latest advance in inflight connectivity and entertainment.

The specialist area in halls B2-B4 brings all the hardware, software, digital tools, connectivity solutions and content services together that will help airlines to deliver highly desirable consumer opportunities to their passengers.

With so much collective expertise from the industry’s major players in one place, you can be guaranteed to find improvements to your inflight services and implement operational efficiencies.

AIX continues to attract the best combination of customers, vendors, and partners in the same area that we see all year. The event is a true comprehensive gathering of the best technologic evolutions in the IFEC space, bringing innovation to the passenger experience industry.


Mike Kuehn
President, Astronics Connectivity Systems and Certification

In IFC we’re seeing huge market changes, which we aren’t necessarily seeing elsewhere in the aviation industry – so the IFEC Zone will be a really interesting place to be at AIX.


William Huot-Marchand
SVP Inflight Connectivity Business Line, Inmarsat

Who will be there?

The IFEC Zone includes vendors offering big data and analytics services, cabin management systems, in-seat power and audio products, seat-back screens and cabin monitors, connectivity and communications services, hardware and technology, and wireless IFE (W-IFE) platforms.

You can also expect to find specialists in:

  • IFE content
  • Secure video streaming
  • Digital rights management (DRM)
  • Connected digital services
  • Passenger engagement software
  • Ancillary revenue optimisation
  • Crew and operational applications

The IFEC Zone visitor community includes senior executives and engineers responsible for the digital and connected onboard experience from airlines and their service partners. Airline heads of customer experience, plus inflight-services and catering teams will also be considering how IFEC will help them deliver efficiency and opportunity to their passengers.

In addition, a broad spectrum of visitors from air framers, aircraft leasing companies, business jets, design, government, academia and consultancies are likely to take a keen interest in the latest IFE and IFC products and services.

What are the critical IFEC trends?

Enabling on-the-ground behaviour and trends onboard the aircraft will be key issues to be discussed within the AIX IFEC Zone according to both IFEC hardware and technology company Astronics and cabin digital transformation specialist AERQ.

AERQ Head of Marketing & PR, Verena Bintaro explains: “With nearly everyone owning a smartphone or tablet, passenger expectations for passenger electronic device-friendly in-seat systems with access to personalised content are growing.”

The IFEC industry in numbers

$24.8bn

Market size in 2022

8%

CAGR to 2027

83%

of passengers choose an
airline with in-flight Wi-Fi

Bintaro notes: “Another key question will be how airlines can create more revenue, savings and growth through digitalised cabins. For us this goes hand in hand with a deeper understanding of passengers’ inflight behaviours and needs.”

In line with these passenger expectations, Astronics’ Mike Kuehn forecasts rapid advances in antenna technology to deliver new features and capabilities, adding that modem flexibility will be another trend to look out for.

The challenge of climate change and the requirement for the passenger experience community to play its part in reducing the carbon footprint of aviation is set to be another issue on the agenda in conversations between vendors and visitors in the IFEC Zone.

Inmarsat’s William Huot-Marchand predicts: “At AIX, we imagine more and more airlines will be discussing their own sustainability targets and goals, and IFEC providers will be ready to showcase how their solutions and products can support in this.”

Shaping the future of the onboard experience

Ultimately, the IFEC Zone at AIX is the platform for the aircraft interiors community to come together to explore the best opportunities and solutions to improve the onboard experience for passengers, crew and airline operations.

The show is the ideal occasion to further understand what airlines need in terms of digital solutions and to discuss future trends with experts from the industry. The IFEC Zone at AIX will once again be the place for everyone who wants to shape the future of passenger experience on board.

Verena Bintaro, AERQ Head of Marketing & PR

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